Dodge may cease production of Grand Caravan in May 2020

The 35 years old nameplate Dodge Caravan (popularly known as Dodge Grand Caravan) may finally be phased out of production in May 2020. The speculation is made by a USA based forecasting company AutoForecast Solutions. 

The assertion made by the company was published as a report on Automotive News Canada’s website. Sam Fiorani, AutoForecast Solutions' VC said, "For the 2020 model year, they’ll likely run to the fleet and then get the consumers to buy the new Voyager." 

However, the speculation was deliberately rejected by Jodi Tinson, an FCA US LLC’s spokesperson. When reached out for clarification, Jodi said, "Grand Caravan production has not ended and we have not made any announcements about the end of production. It is our policy not to comment on future production plans."

The Caravan is manufactured at FCA’s Windsor, Ontario, Canada, factory. This is the same site where the company will build the upcoming Voyager minivans and builds the existing Pacifica. The citation is important as it is being expected that the Caravan will be replaced by the Chrysler Voyager, which will serve as a cheaper alternative to Pacifica. 

If all the aforementioned speculations turn out to be true anyhow, then the Voyager has a high chance of taking over the popularity of Pacifica. The key reason behind this is that despite being priced lower, Voyager shares the same powertrain as that of Pacifica. It arms a 3.6-liter V6 engine that churns out a maximum power of 287 hp along with a peak torque of 262 lb-ft. The power is sent to the front wheels via a nine-speed automatic gearbox. 

Caravan enjoys wide popularity in the US markets. It has recorded 71,947 units of sale through June 2019. Comparing this to Pacifica, the latter schleps a sales count of 48,527 units in the same period.